DeRisi has identified putative disease-causing viruses in humans (cancer, SARS, other respiratory infections, etc.), and animals ranging from parrots and cockatiels to honeybees and boa constrictors. He and a research partner, Don Ganem, have identified a parasite, Nosema ceranae, that appears to be responsible for colony collapse among honeybees. http://today.ucsf.edu/stories/ucsf-sleuths-identify-suspects-in-mystery-of-vanishing-honeybees/. He has also de-bunked the relation of viruses to certain subsets of human cancer.

Perhaps most relevant to contemporary global health, based on extensive characterization of the malaria-causing pathogen, Plasmodium falciparum, DeRisi's group has developed profoundly promising candidate drugs to cure malaria and a model for a vaccine to prevent malaria.

In 2004 DeRisi was named a MacArthur fellow (the "Genius" award), in 2008 was awarded the 14th Annual Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy, and Employment, and in 2014 he received the John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science from the National Academy of Sciences.